Breaking: Cristiano Ronaldo handed a five-match ban after pushing a referee

Cristiano Ronaldo has been handed a five-match ban for pushing referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea following his sending off in Real Madrid's 3-1 Spanish Super Cup first leg win over Barcelona.

Ronaldo has been given a one-game automatic suspension for his red card and a further four games for pushing a match official.

The 32-year-old shoved the De Burgos Bengoetxea in frustration after he was sent off for a second bookable offence, earned for simulation when he went down in the Barcelona penalty area under a challenge from Samuel Umtiti.

The shove will see Ronaldo spending a lengthy spell on the sidelines, with the superstar set to miss the second leg of the Super Cup as well as the first matches of Madrid's La Liga title defence.

Despite the severity of the ban, Ronaldo has got off relatively lightly with four games the minimum punishment handed to players who make contact with the referee.

Article 96 of the Spanish FA rulebook applies to players who 'grab, push or shake' a referee in a 'slightly violent manner' and recommends a four to 12 game suspension for such offences.

De Burgos Bengoetxea had noted the push in his official match report from the Spanish Super Cup first leg, writing: 'Once the red card was shown, the player pushed me slightly in a sign of disagreement'.

Las Palmas striker Marko Livaja was also handed a five-game ban by La Liga for a similar incident back in April, one match for the red card and an additional four for pushing the referee.

Livaja's punishment was typical of the precedent set by La Liga, in which non-serious, violent conduct towards a referee typically results in a four-game ban.

There remains a possibility that Ronaldo could have his second yellow card rescinded on appeal, in which case any the four-game suspension for shoving the referee would still stand but his one-game ban for his sending off would not.

If Ronaldo were to successfully appeal the one-match ban for his sending off and gets his total suspension reduced to four games, his ban would only apply to Spanish Super Cup matches rather than all domestic fixtures including La Liga.

Los Blancos skipper Sergio Ramos suggested the club would appeal Ronaldo's second booking and said his team-mate was not attempting to con the referee when he went to ground under Umtiti's challenge.